A Father's Love
by Danny'sGhostGirl
Summary: Cosmo just wants to spend time with his son, but now that Poof is older, Cosmo's afraid that Poof just doesn't love him anymore. Has Poof really had enough of his father? Or is Cosmo just misguided? Like always. -ONESHOT-


**DGG: I'm here! And I bring w/ me a Father's Day-esque type story. I was fiddling in my mind with an idea that involved Poof being older and Cosmo worrying about their relationship, but I wasn't quite sure how to put that into story form. Then a review from my Mother's Day story mentioned that they kinda hoped for a Father's Day fic, and last month it hit me! HOLY CRAP! I should use that tiny idea and turn it into this monster of a one-shot! Woo! Well...maybe those weren't my exact words, but still. You get the idea, I'm sure.**

**This may or may not be a little rough around the edges still...I usually have more time to work on my stories than just a few weeks, but I truly wanted to post this for Father's Day. But I think it's all right. It gets the point across. And if not...I could always fix it later. No worries! WOO!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own FOP. I may or may not own the older version of Poof though. *shifty eyes* **

**Read and enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"Poof!" cried Cosmo, a cheery green-haired fairy, as he rushed into his son's room.<p>

"Hi, Dad," he glanced at him, but the swirly, purple haired fairy didn't stop the homework he was currently working on.

"Whatcha doin', Poof?" he asked.

"Math."

"Oh," Cosmo slunk away in intimidation.

He wasn't the smartest fairy that was for certain. Actually, he was probably the dumbest fairy to ever exist, so anything that had to do with numbers – or any type of knowledge for that matter – always frightened him a bit; however, his intimidation soon melted away and was replaced with a proud smile. He was glad that his son didn't take after him in the knowledge – or rather lack-of-knowledge – department. Poof was just like his mama. He inherited all her smarts and commonsense. He even looked liked her, which Cosmo thought was fitting. His purple hair was swirly, just like Wanda's pink hair; however, instead of swirling up to sit on top of his head, his hair swirled down, resting just on top of his forehead.

"What do you need, Dad?" Poof asked, snapping Cosmo out of his reverie.

"Huh?" Cosmo blinked.

"You rushed in here," the boy reminded him. "I assumed you wanted something."

"Oh yeah!" the elder fairy smiled again. "I wanted to know if you wanted to hang out! We could play with some blocks!"

Cosmo poofed in a colorful assortment of wooden blocks into his arms and held them toward his diligently working son, a few blocks falling with a clack to the ground below.

"Dad, I'm a little busy right now. Besides don't you think blocks are for babies?" Poof continued on with his work.

"Oh," Cosmo's smiled faltered, but he brightened again as he dropped the blocks to the floor and poofed in a few old toys. "Well how about we play with Beary and Kitty? Here, I'll let you be Beary."

Cosmo held out the ratty bear to his son, who only raised an eyebrow at his father.

"Dad, no. I don't want to be Beary."

"Then you can be Kitty," he held out the old cat.

"I don't want to be either one of them," the boy huffed as he turned his full attention back to his assignment.

"Oh," the green fairy said again, his smile once again dissipating as he poofed his beloved childhood toys away. "Then what would you like to do?"

"I wanna do my math, Dad," Poof snapped while he viciously erased an answer. "Darn it! I can't get this one to work out!"

"But I'm not good at math," Cosmo bowed his head. "Wouldn't you rather do something fun?"

"Math is fun, Dad," Poof brushed the eraser bits from his paper.

The emerald-haired fairy sighed.

"But we can't do that together!"

"Which is why I need Mama's help," the young fairy picked up his worksheet and his math book and used his training wand to transport himself from his bedroom to his godbrother's room, where Wanda was helping him with his homework.

Cosmo sighed as he sat down on his son's bed, his wings drooping. This was about the…the…he didn't know what number it was, but he knew it had to be a fairly large number though. So this was the really-big-number-eth time that he'd tried to spend time with his son this week, and like all the other times he'd offered, Poof declined. He wanted to do his homework. It was either that, or he had already made plans with some friends or his godbrother, or, more-often-than-not, with his mother.

Cosmo sniffed. Just the other day it seemed that Poof would come rushing into his arms every chance he could, and the two would play together until bedtime. But that wasn't the case now. Now it appeared that Poof was slipping out of Cosmo's grasp. He just felt like he didn't know how to make his son stay anymore, and the more Cosmo thought about it, the more he felt that Poof would rather spend time with more intelligent people. It was like he was losing his son.

The male fairy tried to stifle a sob at that last thought. He wanted to be a good father, but he was afraid he would do something to horribly mess up Poof's life or drive him away. Though he was more comfortable with it now, being a father still frightened him a little; his worries about being a father had started before Poof was even born.

* * *

><p><em>"Wanda," Cosmo spoke as his wife made her way over to the bed.<em>

_ "What, Sweetie?" she answered brightly. She was excited, and she had been since Cosmo first became pregnant with their baby. Being a mother was something she had always wanted to be, and she was positively glowing whenever anyone looked at her._

_ "Wanda," he repeated while rubbing his swollen belly, "I'm…I'm scared…"_

_ "Scared?" she blinked while sitting to his left._

_ "Yeah. About the baby," he continued to rub his protruding stomach. "Wh-what if I can't take care of it?"_

_ Wanda smiled at him reassuringly._

_ "Honey, you'll be fine."_

_ "But…but remember all our pets?" Cosmo reminded her. "I forgot to feed them…"_

_ "Cosmo, being a father will be different from owning a pet."_

_ "But what if I forget to feed our baby, Wanda!" exclaimed Cosmo._

_ "You won't forget to feed the baby, Honey. Say you won't be as easy to ignore, will you, Baby?" Wanda hunched down and spoke to her husband's stomach._

_ Cosmo smiled; unfortunately, his doubts just weren't dispelled. _

_ "Wh-what if the baby needs my help, Wanda? What if I won't be able to help it? What if something heavy falls on it, and I can't do anything because I'm not very strong?"_

_ Wanda turned her attention back to her husband._

_ "For one, you have a magic wand to do your heavy lifting, Cosmo. And two, stop thinking so negatively."_

_ "But I'm scared…"_

_ "I know you are, Sweetie," she touched her hand to his cheek._

_ "How come you're not?" the male gasped. "Does this mean that I'm a bad father already?"_

_ "No, Cosmo, it doesn't mean that at all," Wanda shook her head. "It's our first baby, and every parent-to-be is a little nervous beforehand. Even I'm a little nervous."_

_ "Really?" Cosmo blinked. "But you don't act like it."_

_ "I have a few doubts and insecurities pop into my head every once in awhile, Honey. Every parent wonders if they can be the best they possibly can be for their children. They wonder if they'll be able to raise them well, and if they can mold their babies into good, well-rounded individuals. Everyone has these jitters, Cosmo. Even me. It's normal."_

_ The male smiled at his wife's reassuring words as she moved in and gave him a kiss on the lips. _

_ "Do you feel better now?" she asked upon breaking the kiss._

_ "A little," he answered, casting his eyes downward._

_ "What's wrong?"_

_ "I just…what if…" the male stammered._

_ "What if what?"_

_ "What if the baby doesn't love me?" he asked quietly._

_ Wanda blinked at this, not expecting such a serious question from her husband._

_ "Well…why wouldn't the baby love you?" she asked._

_ Cosmo looked back up at his wife, tears threatening to fall from his eyes._

_ "I don't know. It's just that…no one else liked me while I was growing up. I had no friends, and everyone picked on me and made fun of me for being so stupid. You were the only person to ever love me, Wanda. You're still the only person who cares about me. Wh-what if the b-baby d-doesn't love m-me or l-like me l-like everyone else in th-the world?"_

_ "Cosmo," Wanda pulled him into a comforting hug. "Honey, I know life was hard for you while you were growing up…"_

_ "It's still hard," he sobbed into her shoulder._

_ "But I can assure you that the baby will like you. In fact, I'm certain it will love you," she finished._

_ Cosmo sniffed._

_ "R-really?"_

_ "Yes, Honey. There's no reason that our baby won't love you when it gets here. You're sweet and kind and caring. You're everything a good father should be."_

_ "But…but I'm not smart, Wanda. Nothing comes easy for me. Everything I do ends up as a disaster! What if me trying to be a father ends up the same way?"_

_ "Cosmo, you'll be fine. You'll feel better once the baby's here, Sweetie, I promise. Plus you're not going to go through this alone; I'll be here to help, of course. You're already an excellent godfather, and you'll be an equally wonderful biological father. I know you will."_

_ "But what if the baby hates me because I'm so stupid?"_

_ Wanda frowned._

_ "That won't happen. The baby will love you no matter what. I promise," she kissed Cosmo on the cheek. "Don't worry."_

* * *

><p>Wanda had been right, of course. But it still took awhile for him to adjust to the fact that someone else in the world truly wanted him. That someone else loved him.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Poof's happy little giggle filled the entire living room of Cosmo and Wanda's magical castle. The dim fairy watched happily as his wife gently bounced their newborn son up and down on her knee. The new father couldn't help but be proud of his new little bundle of joy. He couldn't believe that he could love him so much already! Poof fit in so perfectly with him and his wife that it was hard to believe that he had just gotten there. He didn't know how it was possible, but he was glad that it was.<em>

_ Suddenly, the circular baby yawned, his eyes drooping drowsily as Wanda stopped bouncing him._

_ "I think it's somebody's bedtime," she smiled._

_ "But I'm not sleepy yet," protested Cosmo._

_ The female shot him a reproachful glance._

_ "I was talking about Poof."_

_ "Oh," Cosmo smiled as he gazed lovingly at his son, who was now just sitting in Wanda's lap._

_ "Are you ready for bed, Sweetie?" Wanda asked the tiny baby._

_ Poof yawned again, but before Wanda could even pick him up, the baby suddenly jumped up and flew to Cosmo's lap. The green-haired male watched in awe as the baby nuzzled up against his stomach and closed his large, purple eyes. After a few moments, Cosmo instinctively wrapped his arms around his young son, though he still seemed to be in shock as he stared down at the baby's sleeping form._

_ Wanda smiled at the sight._

_ "W-Wanda," Cosmo finally spoke. "He…he wanted me…"_

_ "Well, of course," the female continued to smile. "You're his daddy."_

_ "Wanda…he wanted me! Just like you said he would!" Cosmo looked at her and smiled._

_ "I know. Because he loves you, Sweetie," Wanda chuckled._

_ "But I haven't even done anything to prove that I love him yet," Cosmo continued to speak in wonder. "I mean…you didn't love me when you first met me, but we just met today and Poof loves me already!"_

_ "Yes, because babies automatically love their parents, Cosmo. You don't have to do anything special to gain his love and trust," she laughed at her husband's excitement._

_ "Really?"_

_ Wanda shook her head, still smiling, "Nope."_

_ "So…I really have two people that love me now?" Cosmo's smile grew even wider._

_ "Yes, Honey."_

_ "And…he'll always love me? Just like you will?"_

_ Wanda slid over to her husband and kissed him on the cheek._

_ "Yes, Cosmo. The two of us will love you forever and ever."_

_ "He'll never leave me?"_

_ "No, Honey. He won't leave you. He's yours forever and ever; he ours forever and ever."_

_ "Wanda, I like this feeling. Will it go away?"_

_ "I don't think so, Darling. Poof and I will always be here for you. I promise."_

* * *

><p>Cosmo furrowed his eyebrows. He still didn't quite understand how his baby son could have loved him so much right from the get-go, but he didn't want to question it. If someone else wanted to love him unconditionally, then he would allow it. And he did allow it. And it wasn't long before he realized that Poof liked doing the same things he did! Finally Cosmo had someone else to play blocks with and to share his childhood toys with! And Cosmo loved making his son laugh. If Poof was happy, then he was happy; Poof's smile, and especially his laugh, was contagious. The more time he spent with his son, the more he grew to love him, and he could tell that Poof grew to love him more and more as well.<p>

As Poof grew, they would spend more and more quality time together, just sitting around and laughing and playing games. Cosmo felt like he was on top of the world. For someone like him, who grew up as the outcast of all of Fairy World, and who grew up feeling alone, he thought it was amazing that just one person would want to love him. But now he had two people who loved him unconditionally. And he certainly didn't want that to go away. Two people wanted to be with him. Two people wanted to hug him. Two people wanted to kiss him. Two people loved him. And he loved them. And he loved the feeling of having a little family to call all his own.

But lately, Poof was spending less and less time with him and more quality time with Wanda. And that wasn't bad or anything, but Cosmo was starting to notice that Poof just wasn't interested in the same things he was anymore. Poof was more interested in his schoolwork and getting good grades, which was a good thing, but Cosmo was never any good in school. If Poof had a homework question, he had to go to Wanda for help. Cosmo often messed up spells, so if his son had a problem with learning a new one, he had to go to Wanda for that too. And it just seemed that when Poof had some free-time, he would rather spend it with his mother.

The male sighed. He knew he had embarrassed Poof a few times due to his low I.Q. Maybe Poof just didn't want to have to deal with someone as stupid as his stupid father? This caused the male to whimper. One of his biggest fears was that his stupidity would drive his son away. He loved his son; he didn't want Poof to stop loving him! And he certainly didn't want to readjust to having just one person love him again after he experienced the magic of having two people love him.

With that thought, Cosmo decided to get up and go to the foyer of the magical castle he and his family resided in. He flew to the front door, turned into a fish, and swam out into the fishbowl, which sat in his godson's room. The goldfish frowned as he saw his family together on the other side of the room working on homework problems together. He wished he could help out. It would give him a chance to bond with his son, but his low I.Q. made it impossible for him to help Poof with anything, or help out his godson for that matter.

"Good job, Pumpkin," Wanda smiled at Poof.

"Yay! I get it now. I feel dumb for messing it up. It was so easy."

"It was just one of those little mistakes, Baby."

"Well, now that Poof's problem is solved, do you think you can help me now, Wanda?" asked the blonde, twelve-year-old boy sitting in the chair beside the two floating fairies.

"Of course, Brennan," she turned back toward him. "Can you handle the rest of your homework, Poof?"

"I think so, Mama," he smiled. "I'll do it out here though, just in case I come across another pesky problem."

"All right, Sweetie."

"Geez, I hate word problems!" cried Brennan. "Who cares when the two trains are gonna meet! And why are they on the same track in the first place? Isn't that poor planning on the stations' parts or something?"

"Word problems aren't as bad as you think, Sport. You just have to break them down."

Cosmo sighed again, but this time a wave of determination washed over him. He wanted to spend time with his son, and if helping him with his homework would do that, then he would help Poof out the best he could. With that in mind, the fairy poofed himself from the fishbowl to the bed in his normal fairy form. The young fairy looked up from his work and smiled before continuing.

"Hi, Dad."

"Hey, Poof," Cosmo returned the smile, albeit a nervous one. "N-need any help?"

Poof gave his father a quizzical glance.

"No, Dad, I got it."

"Are you sure? Cuz I can totally help you. I know how to wield a pencil and…and I can hit buttons on a…a calculator, and…"

"It's fine. I got it, Dad," the boy smiled in amusement. "Besides, I'm not even using a calculator."

"Really?" the older male blinked. "Why?"

"Cuz I can do it in my head, or just work it out on the page."

"Wow. You really are smart. I can't do anything in my head. Not even think."

Poof chuckled.

"I need to work through these now. They're due tomorrow."

"Oh," Cosmo's face fell. "Well, maybe we can hang out when you're done. We could…we could go outside or something and play hide-and-seek. Or just go to the park and play. Heck, we could just go outside and lounge around."

"Dad, I can't. I have to finish all my homework. I have this to do, then I have to practice for my charms class, and then…"

"Ooh! I know some charms!" Cosmo brightened. "Your old man is kinda handy with a wand, ya know! What's something you need to practice?"

"Um…well, we're learning how to shape-shift other objects."

"Ooh! I can totally do that! Check it out, Poof, I can turn your pencil into a butterfly. Just watch this!"

"Dad…" Poof began; however, Cosmo wasn't listening. He held up his magic wand and used it to transfigure his son's wooden pencil. Unfortunately, his aim was off and he missed the pencil, instead hitting his son's homework. And rather than turning it into a butterfly like he wanted, he accidentally caught the paper on fire.

"DAD!" yelped Poof as he jumped into the air.

Wanda and Brennan turned around at the commotion, both gasping at the sight. The female fairy, however, swiftly took out her own wand to douse the fire her husband started. Unfortunately, the paper was burned to a crisp.

"Dad," Poof whimpered, while staring at the charred remnants of his homework.

"Whoops," Cosmo lowered his head sheepishly. "S-sorry, Poof."

"Dad, you set my homework on fire! It's due tomorrow! What am I gonna tell my teacher! She's not gonna believe me!" the young boy's voice quivered as he rounded on his father.

"I'm sorry, Poof. I didn't mean to!" Cosmo blinked rapidly while trying to stop the onslaught of tears he felt coming.

"What am I gonna do, Dad? She's not gonna let me redo it!"

"So…I guess this means you don't wanna go to the park or anything?"

"No, Dad, I don't wanna do anything with you! Mama!" Poof flew into Wanda's arms, his face scrunched up to prevent his own tears from falling.

"Calm down, Sweetie, I'll talk to your teacher," the female spoke calmly before turning her attention to her husband. "Cosmo, go back inside the castle."

"But…but I just…"

"Now. You're not helping."

"Okay," he whimpered, hanging his head as he transported himself back inside his home.

* * *

><p>"Cosmo, what was that today? What were you doing?" Wanda scolded him that night.<p>

"I just…I was lonely. I feel left out when you're all doing homework. I just wanted to help…"

"So you torched our son's math homework?"

"I didn't mean to, Wanda! I just wanted to help him!"

"Cosmo, I know you had good intentions, but you know that schoolwork isn't your forte."

"What?" he stared blankly at her.

"Schoolwork was never your strong suit."

"I just wanted to spend time with Poof, that's all," the fairy bowed his head. "He doesn't wanna be with me anymore."

Wanda blinked.

"What? Why would you think that?"

"Because it's true, Wanda! Poof doesn't want me anymore! He doesn't like blocks anymore, and he doesn't want to play with Beary or Kitty. He doesn't want anything to do with his stupid dad anymore. He just wants to be with you! And now he probably hates me after today."

Wanda sighed, her anger leaving.

"Darling, he's upset, but he'll get over it. It doesn't mean that he hates you though."

"But he doesn't want to spend time with me anymore. He just wants to do his schoolwork, and when he's not doing that, he's watching what you're doing because you're smart like him, so he can learn all sorts of good things from you. He likes books and reading like you do. He even likes eating well like you. He likes broccoli, Wanda! What kid likes broccoli! And salads! He eats like you. He waves his wand like you do. He looks up to you now, and…and he…he doesn't like anything I like anymore…"

"That's not true, Sweetie. So he and I have a few of the same interests, but he also loves cheese pie just like you do," Wanda smiled. "And you both love watching movies. And let's not forget that you both love sleeping in. If I wasn't here to wake the two of you up, you'd both just sleep forever. You and Poof still have plenty in common."

"Then why doesn't he want to spend any time with me anymore? When did he stop loving all the things we used to do together?" the tears streamed down Cosmo's cheeks.

"Oh, Honey," Wanda tipped her husband's chin up so that he was looking into her eyes. "It's not that Poof doesn't want to spend any time with you, it's just that his interests are changing a little. Remember, he's not a baby anymore. He's 684. In human years, he's about ten or eleven, maybe even twelve. He's growing up."

"Then I don't want Poof to grow up."

"All babies grow up, Cosmo. That's just the way life goes," Wanda cupped his face in her hands.

"Sure. That's easy for you to say," he snapped at her, suddenly backing out of her grasp. "Poof wants to be with you."

"Cosmo…" the female frowned.

"We're not as close as we used to be! You said Poof would always love me, and you said he'd never leave me, but he is leaving me! I mean, I was always so alone while growing up, and then you came into my life and I was so happy. Then Poof came into my life one day, and I was even happier, and now I feel like I'm losing him! And I don't wanna lose one of the only two people who ever cared about me! Especially since I love him so much, Wanda," he sobbed.

"Oh, Cosmo," Wanda wrapped her arms around him in a sympathetic embrace. "It's all right. Don't cry. Hush, Sweetie. Hush."

"He likes spending all his extra time with you!" Cosmo wailed.

"Cosmo, I know Poof and I spend a lot of time together, but…"

"It's because you're smarter! I embarrass him because I'm so dumb! He doesn't wanna be seen with someone as stupid as me! That's why he hates me!" the green-haired fairy buried his face in his wife's neck.

"He doesn't feel that way at all, Honey. And trust me, Cosmo, he doesn't hate you," Wanda stroked his wings comfortingly.

"Why doesn't he like playing with me anymore?"

"Cosmo, he loves playing with you. Like I said, his interests are changing. He likes doing his schoolwork, and he tries to get good grades…"

"But all he ever seems to do is homework!"

"He takes on extra tasks because he likes to. That's just the way he is. But it doesn't mean that he's stopped loving you, Cosmo."

"It doesn't feel like he loves me anymore," the male sniffled as a whole new torrent of sobs escaped him.

"Cosmo," Wanda hugged him tighter as he cried onto her shoulder.

"He doesn't need me anymore, Wanda. I think he outgrew me!"

"Honey, he hasn't outgrown you. You're his father. That can't happen."

"I don't want all the fun times to go away," he completely broke down.

That night Cosmo tossed and turned in his sleep. His usually sweet dreams were filled with images of his family abandoning him so that he was completely alone in the world. A few of them just had Poof leaving him. One had Poof telling Cosmo that he no longer wanted him in his life. They were some of the worst dreams he'd had in his entire life.

The next morning, Cosmo was startled awake by someone plopping on top of him. He grunted and yelped in surprise as his green eyes shot wide open.

"Hey, Dad," the young fairy greeted.

"Poof?" the green-haired fairy stared at him in wonder. "W-what are you doing?"

"I thought you might like to spend the morning together before I have to go to school," he smiled.

"R-really?"

"Yeah. I made us some cereal to eat, Dad. Come on!" the young fairy jumped up and zipped out the bedroom door.

Cosmo sat up slowly, blinking his green orbs. Poof wanted to hang out with him? When was the last time Poof even asked him to do that? It was always Cosmo who was offering to spend time with his son. While Cosmo attempted to ponder this, Poof poked his head back into the room.

"Aren't you comin', Dad?" he smiled.

"Uh…y-yeah. Yeah," a smile crept onto the older male's face. "Yeah, I'm coming. And I'm gonna getcha!"

Cosmo jumped out of bed and began flying toward the door. Poof laughed as he darted away just before his father could reach him.

"Give up, Poof! You know I'm gonna catch ya!" Cosmo cried.

"Nu uh!" Poof laughed.

The two boys zipped throughout the halls of their magical home just laughing and having a good time until Cosmo finally caught up to his son in the kitchen and threw his arms around the boy.

"Gotcha!"

Poof laughed happily.

"Come on, Dad, let's eat. I'm hungry."

"Okay!" the older fairy let go of his son, so the two of them could sit down at the table in front of their cereal bowls. Upon looking down into the bowl, Cosmo gasped.

"Poof, you made my favorite cereal?"

"Uh huh. I got up extra early so I could cut up the cheese into nice little blocks," the young fairy smiled. "Well…Mama helped me cut them, I guess, but it was all my idea."

"Just for me?" Cosmo smiled as he picked up one of the many chunks of cheese from his cereal bowl.

"Hey, I like cheese cereal too, Dad!"

"But your mama only lets us have it on special occasions."

"It is a special occasion!"

Cosmo cocked his head to the side.

"What occasion? Is it someone's birthday? Is it my birthday? Is it yours?" Cosmo blanched. "Oh no! I didn't get you a present, Poof!"

"Calm down, Dad, it's no one's birthday. It's just a special day."

"What makes it so special then?"

"It's special because I get to spend it with you, Dad," Poof flew over and hugged his father.

Cosmo smiled as he gratefully returned the hug.

"You really think it's special?" asked the green-haired male.

"Yeah, Dad."

"Even though I set your homework on fire?"

"Homework's not as important as you…but it's still important, so could you please try not to set anymore of my assignments on fire?"

Cosmo laughed as he squeezed his son tighter.

"Sure, Poof. I'm no good at homework anyway. I never was."

"I know, Dad."

"I just wanted to spend time with you."

"I know that too, Dad."

"So…you still love me? Even though I'm just a stupid loser?"

The boy looked up at his father.

"I don't think you're a stupid loser…"

"And you still love me even though I'm not as smart as your mama?"

"Dad, I love you because you're you. I wouldn't want you to be like Mama. If you were like Mama, then who would I sneak cheese with or secretly stay up past my bedtime with? Who would be mischievous with me?"

"Probably all your godbrothers and sisters," answered Cosmo with a frown.

"I'd rather do most of the rule-breaking with you though."

"Good," Cosmo nuzzled the top of his son's head.

Poof smiled, but his smile vanished when he looked back up at his father.

"I'm really sorry about yesterday, Dad. I know that you just wanna hang out with me. I didn't mean what I said yesterday about not wanting to do anything with you. I just have a lot more to do now, and I know you just wanted to help. I don't mean to not hang out with you or make you feel bad. I never want to make you feel bad."

Cosmo blinked while cocking his head to the side.

"Wow. No one's ever apologized for making me feel bad before, except for your mama, of course. Usually everyone is aiming to make me feel bad though."

"Well, that's never what I try to do. You're my dad. You're like my best bud," Poof nuzzled his father's chest happily as he squeezed him tighter. "If you feel bad, then I feel bad."

Cosmo gasped.

"No!" he cried, causing Poof to back off in surprise. "No, Poof, I don't want you to feel bad! You're my son! I hate it if you cry or get hurt! I can't stand to see you or your mama upset. It makes me want to cry too, which is why I'm really bad at being the strong one in any situation. Please don't feel bad! I'm not worth feeling bad over!"

"Of course you are, Dad. Like I said, you're my bud. You've always been there for me whenever I needed you. And you can be plenty strong. Remember when I broke my wing, and they had to splint it so I couldn't fly for what felt like forever?"

"What are you talking about? I was a mess when that happened!" Cosmo raised an eyebrow.

"You didn't seem like it to me," Poof smiled. "You were extra protective of me though. And you'd freak out about hugging me because you didn't want to accidentally crush or touch my wing. But you were definitely the take-charge parent who put on a brave face just for me, so the whole experience wasn't as bad as I thought it was."

"R-really? You think so?"

"Yeah. You made a bunch of jokes about stuff to make me laugh and take my mind off my wing. And remember how bummed I was that I couldn't float in the air or fly around like you and Mama? But you made it better. You held me up in the air and pretended to fly me around like a superhero! That was fun, Dad. And it made me feel so much better."

"Well," Cosmo started, "I'm glad that one of us thinks I do a good job."

"You do a great job, Dad. I think you do a better job than you think."

"I guess," Cosmo shrugged, still a little doubtful of his son's words. "You really think I'm a good dad?"

"No," Poof spoke bluntly causing Cosmo's face to fall. "I think you're a great dad, and I wouldn't trade you for anyone else in the entire universe."

The older male gave his son a grateful smile as he pulled him back into another hug.

"You're the best son in the entire world, Poof!"

Poof laughed as he hugged his father as tightly as he could; however, once he caught a glimpse of the kitchen clock, he immediately gasped and pulled out of his father's embrace.

"I'm gonna be late for school!" he cried.

"Aw," Cosmo frowned. "But we didn't get to eat our cheese cereal."

"I guess we'll have to eat some later, Dad. I'll see you when I get home. And we can play with blocks."

"Really? But I thought you said that blocks were for babies."

The purple-haired boy smiled.

"Well, as long as I'm playing blocks with you, then I guess it's not so bad."

"You mean it?"

"Yeah. I'll see you when I get home today. I love ya, Dad."

"I love you too, Poof."

The boy held up his training wand.

"WAIT!" Cosmo cried, causing the boy to jump and drop his wand.

"What, Dad?" he blinked.

"You…you'll always love me, won't you?"

Poof smiled.

"Course I will. You're my dad."

"You promise? Even though I'm dumber than…than a…than...See? I'm not even bright enough to know what I'm dumber than!" Cosmo placed his head in his hands.

Poof laughed as he flew over and pulled his father's hands away from his face.

"I promise, Dad. And it's okay that you're not smart. I'd rather you be this way. I mean, I can't imagine you being anything else! Besides, sometimes you're lack-of-smarts gets us into some pretty fun situations, especially if it's involving wishes."

"Yeah," Cosmo smiled sheepishly while placing his hands behind his back. "I guess it does. But sometimes my goofs are dangerous…"

"But that's why you have me and Mama go keep you in line," Poof bent down and picked up his wand. "But I really have to go now. I promise that I'll spend all night with you. Well, I will once I finish my homework. Deal?"

"And we can play with blocks and watch movies together? And eat popcorn?" Cosmo smiled.

"Definitely!" Poof smiled.

"Then it's a deal! I'll see you later, Poof."

"See ya, Dad. And tell Mama I say 'bye' too!"

Cosmo waved as his son quickly transported himself from the kitchen to school. Once he was gone the fairy beamed. Poof did want to spend time with him! He did love him! Even after yesterday! That fact left the fairy feeling lighter than air for the rest of the day. He was the happiest he had felt in a long time as he went about his job that day, and he just couldn't wait for Poof to return home from school. Eventually, the young fairy returned with an armload of homework to do, but it was easy enough for him, and he quickly finished all of it. From there, the two male fairies spend the rest of the evening together.

They started off by playing with Cosmo's old blocks. They both competed for who could make the best block fortress – Poof won, like always. For whatever reason, Cosmo just couldn't get his to stay standing. Then they went on to see how tall they could stack the blocks before they toppled over. The two laughed when their stack finally collapsed to the ground below. It was then that Poof suggested they go out to the park and play. The boys played on every bit of playground equipment that was there before playing hide-and-seek for awhile. Next, they decided to get something to eat, so they returned to Fairy World where they each bought cheese dogs and nachos for dinner. Once they finished their meals, they just sat on the curb and talked for awhile. The two exchanged all sorts of stories, but it was mainly Poof who did all the talking. Cosmo wanted to be up-to-date on everything in his son's life. Once it started getting darker the boys headed back to their magical castle and popped in a movie of Poof's choice. Cosmo supplied the ample of amount of popcorn and the two lounged on the couch for the rest of the night. By the time the movie was over, Poof was fast asleep on his father's shoulder. Cosmo smiled proudly as he ruffled his snoozing son's hair.

"Did you have fun today?" asked Wanda as she came into the room and shut the TV off.

"Oh yeah, Wanda, we had loads of fun!" Cosmo smiled. "And it was all Poof's idea. He wanted to hang out with me."

"See? I told you he still loved you. He's just the tiniest bit busier nowadays with schoolwork and whatnot, but you'll always hold a special place in his heart," the female sat on the arm of the couch by her husband's head.

"I know. He told me he didn't mean to not spend time with me," the green-haired male cast his eyes downward poignantly.

"What's the matter? Why should that make you sad, Honey?" Wanda placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"No, it's not that. It's just…I have the best family in the world, Wanda," he spoke. "I don't deserve you guys."

Wanda smiled.

"If you didn't deserve us, then we wouldn't be here."

Cosmo mulled over her words for a moment. She had a point. But of course she had a point! She was smart! She knew what she was saying.

"Right?" she interrupted his thoughts.

Cosmo grinned.

"Right," he looked down at his son. "Do you think that Poof will always want to hang out with me? Even when he's older and wants to go out with girls and do other stuff older people do?"

"I'm sure Poof will always find time for you, Cosmo."

"And he'll find time for you too, Wanda," the dim fairy informed her happily.

She nodded.

"We're a family, Cosmo. We'll always find time for one another."

"Good," the male scooted down to get comfortable. "I'm sleepy, Wanda."

"Do you want me to poof Poof to his room?"

"No! No, I wanna stay out here with him," Cosmo hugged the sleeping boy. "You get to have the bed all to yourself tonight."

Wanda smiled as she leaned down and gave both her boys kisses on the head.

"All right. Good night, Cosmo."

"Good night."

He watched her hover off toward their bedroom, but once she was out of sight, he turned his attention back to his son. Poof wasn't a baby anymore, and that broke his heart sometimes, but the love that his son always gave him when he was younger was still just as strong now. So what if he felt left out sometimes. As long as Poof still loved him at the end of the day, then it was all right. So long as Poof still wanted to be with him, it was all right.

He squeezed his son tighter.

"I love you, Poof. More than you'll ever know," Cosmo rested his chin on his son's head.

Soon enough the older fairy drifted off to sleep as well, but unlike the night before, he slept easy. His head was filled with sweet dreams yet again, dreams that depicted him and his son remaining very close forever. He loved Poof, and now there was no doubt in his mind that his son loved him too. His son didn't mind his low I.Q.…well, he didn't mind it most of the time. Regardless, Cosmo was happy to know that no matter how old his son got, he would always find time for him. And Cosmo wouldn't have it any other way.


End file.
